Someone to Save You from You
by DesiringMagic
Summary: Fresh from regeneration, the Twelfth Doctor and Clara are headed toward their first adventure together. But will unfamiliarity and dangerous situations cause an early end to their travels? (This is such a horrible summary.) Rated K... for now.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Good Starts

He had passed out shortly after regenerating and she took it upon herself to drag him back to the Tardis. Once inside, she left him lying on the floor and took a moment to catch her breath. After her breathing normalized, she began to pace around the console room, not even sparing him a glance.

She was very nervous, to be honest. She didn't know whether she should be doing something else besides waiting for him to wake up. And if she was perfectly honest with herself, a small part of her didn't want him to wake up. At least not right now. She needed a little bit of time. She still wasn't mentally prepared for dealing with this new him.

Sure, knowing that he could change before hand was defiantly helping her cope with the situation. But knowing something could happen and have it actually happen right in front of you are two different things.

Would she like him? Would he like her? How different would he be from her Doctor? What if they didn't get along and he kicked her out? Her pacing increased at that thought, and she couldn't help but wish that she still had her Doctor. She missed him terribly already. She rapidly blinked to stop the flooding tears from falling.

Maybe she was just overreacting. She'll learn to love this him just as much as she loved the other. All she needed to do was wait for him to wake up and make sure they had a good start to whatever relationship they were going to have from now on. She took a few calming breaths and kneeled down next to him to finally let herself look over his new body.

He was slightly taller now, judging by how his pants were higher up his legs than usual. He didn't have that child-like face anymore. Wrinkles lined his face, especially around his mouth and eyes. Hopefully he was one for smiles. His chin was smaller, thank god for that. His hair was multiple shades of gray and she found herself liking it very much. It suited this new him. He might not think so, though. From what she could remember he really wants to be ginger.

"Maybe next time, Doctor." She whispered with a smile as she reached her hand out to ruffle his hair. However, she never got a chance for something caught her wrist in midair. The surprise caused her to yell but she quickly covered her mouth with her free hand.

Suddenly, he bolted up into a sitting position and looked around, confused. He finally seemed to notice that he was still holding onto her and let go to examine his hands. He turned them around a couple of times at differing distances from his face before finally settling his gaze on her. He blinked a couple of times. She tried to give him a small smile and waved her hand a little.

Uneasiness quickly settled within her when she saw his expression change from confusion to disgust. He gave a loud groan.

"You have _got_ to be joking. As if the regeneration itself wasn't enough, now I have to deal with _this_!" He punctuated with a motion to Clara.

"What did I do!?" Clara shouted indignantly. So much for good starts.

"And not only that, I'm Scottish now! Well I guess that part isn't really that bad." He got up, swaying a little before steadying himself.

"Oh, I'm taller now…" He looked down at her as she too stood up, ready to help him incase he lost his balance again. "Or maybe you just got shorter?"

"No, I'm sure you're the one that got taller." She said hesitantly.

"Hmm…"

She eyed him cautiously while he turned around and walked slowly out of the console room and into the hall. His hands were slightly outstretched in front of him, like he was afraid of bumping into something. She followed behind and watched as he entered a room. She waited out in the hall to see if he was going to come out and entered when he didn't.

They were in the wardrobe, rows of clothes stood before her. She would have been amazed at the size of the room, but she had already been there thanks to the endless number of times the Tardis had changed the location of her bedroom, forcing her to wander aimlessly for hours.

She looked around, standing on her toes to see where he had gone to. She walked through the clothes and found him crouched down and digging inside a box full of…

"Glasses?" But he paid no attention to her and continued to look through the box, mumbling incoherent words and occasionally trying on a pair.

"Why are you looking at glasses?" No reply.

"It would be nice if you stopped ignoring me." She said, crossing her arms and taking a defensive stance. Nope, definitely not a good start. She was about to repeat herself when he suddenly gave a triumphant shout, startling her.

"Aha! Perfect!" He turned around excitedly and came to stand right in front of her, slightly invading her personal space. "So what do you think?"

She became slightly annoyed at his demand for attention when he wasn't giving her any and was about to sass him until she noticed the slightly rectangular, black rimmed glasses now resting on the bridge of his nose. She took a closer look, noticed the thickness of the lenses, and realized why he had acted the way he did before.

"Are you blind?" She asked trying to stifle a giggle. But apparently she didn't do a good job of it as his smile quickly dropped and a faint blush covered his cheeks. It was nice to see the blush was still the same.

"No!" He shouted with irritation and took a step back from her. "It's just… fashion."

"Of course it is, give me those." She reached up and took his glasses off.

"Hey! Give them back!" He reached out a hand to grab them but she evaded him and put the glasses on. Pain struck her eyes at the sudden blurriness and she blinked heavily.

"Oh my God! You're as blind as a bat!" She said jeeringly.

"I'm so sorry we can't all have perfect vision like you. Now give them here!" But she evaded his grasp again and continued to walk away from him to look around the room in awe.

"I'm amazed you made it all the way over here without tripping over or crashing into a wall." She said with a smirk.

"Oswin, give them to me."

She froze in her spot and turned to face him. He came up and took the glasses from her face and planted them on his.

"Did you just call me 'Oswin'?"

"Yes, it is your name after all."

"No, it's not."

He looked at her as if she was stupid.

"Yes it is. 'Clara Oswin Oswald'. See? After the 'Clara' and before the 'Oswald'. How do you not know your own name?" He asked incredulously.

"That's not my name, not really." She said with a huff.

"Then what is it?"

"It's just 'Clara Oswald'. How do you not remember that?" She asked, mocking him. He obviously didn't take the way she mocked him very well for she saw his eyes narrow dangerously.

"No, it's not."

"Doctor, I think I know my own name."

"No, you clearly don't. As it just so happened 'Clara Oswin Oswald' was written on your tomb stone. So, HA!" He pushed her forehead slightly with his pointer finger, crossed his arms, and puffed his chest out in victory. She had a feeling that he would be doing that quite often.

"Doctor, that was one of my echoes. You know, the echoes that saved you a million times? Besides, how could it have been _my_ tomb stone if I'm standing right in front of you?" She watched as his triumphant stance changed to one of sheepishness. He shifted his glasses slightly. Her heart softened at his actions.

"Yes, well, I still like 'Oswin' better." He stated without looking at her and turning his attention to the nearby clothes on the racks. Clara couldn't help but smile. She liked this new banter between them, even if this new him was getting on her nerves more times than before. And the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea of him calling her 'Oswin'.

"You can call me 'Oswin' if you want." She said, hoping to heal his wounded pride.

"Oh, I was going to call you 'Oswin' whether you liked it or not. But I guess your approval makes things easier." He responded cheekily while looking through the clothes. She gave him a playful punch on the arm and smiled when she saw his body shake slightly from silent laughter.

Maybe this was a good start after all.

**Author's Note:**** At first, this was going to be a short story (Just this chapter) but I couldn't resist writing more :D Yes, I will be having the Doctor call Clara 'Oswin' throughout this story because it's one of my hopes that he will do so in the show (it probably will never happen, but hey, I can dream can't I?) So if that bugs you then I'm sorry to say that it doesn't get any easier from here. I'm also trying to write them with a father-daughter thing going (inspiration coming from my own relationship with my dad) because I really want that to happen too. Although I have to add that I DO NOT object to a romantic relationship between them and that I'm actually hoping for that just as much as the father-daughter thing. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and I'm looking forward to hearing what you think. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Clothes for You

They were still in the wardrobe as the Doctor had begun busying himself with looking through the contents. She had been a little confused until she remembered that he was probably looking for something new to wear. His current outfit was torn and ragged; and even if it wasn't, he probably didn't like it anymore since now he was a new man and had new tastes. It seemed he had read her mind because he called out to her over his shoulder.

"Are you going to help me or not?" Clara became excited at the prospect. She had always wanted to help him pick something out to wear, mostly to get rid of that ridiculous bowtie.

"So what are you looking for?" She moved closer to him and inspected the article he was currently holding.

"I don't know."

"Then what do you want to put on?"

"I don't know."

"Well, what do you like?"

"I don't know."

"Then what do you _do_ know?" She asked, irritated.

"That you're very easily annoyed… and childish." He added when he saw her stick out her tongue at him. She sighed and decided to walk around. Maybe the other side of the room had something he could wear. She looked through the clothes, picking up bits and pieces that she wanted him to try on. After a while she decided to go back to him, mostly because she couldn't carry anymore things.

She went back to the last place she had seen him but couldn't spot him anywhere, just the box of glasses.

"Doctor! Where are you?"

"Over here!" She looked around but still couldn't see him.

"Where?"

"Just head to the staircase!" She looked around and her eyes finally settled on a winding metal staircase at the far end of the room. She walked over to it and hastily dropped the clothes, groaning at the achy feeling of her arms. But he wasn't there either. She took a closer look at the stairs and noticed that they continued in both directions: to a lower floor and to an upper floor.

"Doctor?"

"Up here!" She climbed the stairs and saw him surrounded by what she guessed was his own pile of 'clothes to try on'. It seems like he had already tried some on as his purple coat, and waist coat were no where to be seen, his shirt wasn't tucked in and was unbuttoned at the top, and he was barefoot. She tried to ignore the little stab of pain at noticing that the bowtie was also no where to be found.

"I've found some clothes you could try on."

"Great! Bring them up." She sighed pointedly.

"But it's a lot and my arms hurt from carrying them around trying to find you."

"Well, then what do you prefer? Bringing your pile up, or taking my pile down?" He asked, pointing to the pile of clothes she had spotted. It was bigger than hers.

"Why can't you carry it!?"

"Because I'll be carrying the other pile." He pointed to another pile that was still bigger than the first.

She groaned and headed down the stairs to get her pile of clothes. But when she got back up, he was gone again. She abruptly dropped the clothes at her feet. Was this whole disappearing nonsense going to be a thing now?

"Doctor, I am not carrying these clothes to another floor again!"

"Calm down!" He came into view, carrying something above his head. A mirror. He rested it against one of the racks of clothes and turned to face her.

"You're tired already?" She asked once she noticed that he was slightly out of breath.

"It was heavy!" She smirked.

"If you get that way with only a mirror, then I hope you can still keep up with the Daleks."

"Of course I still can! I've got longer legs now, unlike your twigs." He said, motioning to her legs.

"Well, these twigs come with a strong and _youthful_ pair of lungs, _old man_." Suddenly a shirt came hurtling toward her, hitting her square on the face. She became a little worried that she may have overdone it with the teasing but then she saw his smug expression and couldn't stop herself from throwing the shirt right back. He promptly caught it before it hit his face and his smirk grew.

"Show off." She stuck her tongue out again.

"You're just jealous." He dropped the shirt on one of the piles and silence fell as they both stared at the clothes. "Well, I guess we better get started."

Four hours, and multiple eye shieldings to let him change, later and they were still trying to finish off his new outfit. Clara's excitement had quickly disappeared after the first hour and now she was just plain exhausted of looking at clothes. If it had been up to her they would have finished two hours ago, but the Doctor kept insisting that something was missing, something that would complete the outfit to perfection.

She still couldn't see it. Everything was fine to her. They had decided on a wine red dress shirt that he promptly decided to wear with the top button undone; a dark gray, tweed waistcoat (she had insisted on the waistcoat – because of the previous him, she had come to love tweed); black, slim fit pants that were tucked into a pair of black, calf-high, punk rock, slightly worn out, lace-up combat boots (she had protested at first but his stubbornness ended up winning); and a navy blue long coat.

She had tried to convince him to wear contacts, (he had absolutely refused to), but now she agreed that the glasses did add a certain flavor to the get up. He did look rather amazing. If only he agreed.

"Doctor, can I leave now?" She called out while lying on the pile of rejected clothes.

"No. You have to help me. Something's missing and I need to find out what." She moved her gaze from the ceiling to him. He was still staring steadily at himself in the mirror.

"But everything's fine. You don't need anything else."

"Yes I do."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Something that I don't wear all the time but can carry around for when I do need to wear it. An accessory of some kind…"

Suddenly the idea struck her. She got up and made for the stairs.

"Oswin? Where are you going? You still haven't helped me find what I nee – and she's gone." He sighed and turned back to the mirror. But instead of examining the outfit, he stared at his new face, bringing a hand up to touch the features.

"Do I have one of those faces that no one listens to… _again_?"

After a couple of minutes, he heard her make her way up the staircase.

"Did you get tired of being bored somewhere else and came to be bored here again?" He turned when he didn't hear the feisty answer he was expecting and saw her a few feet away. Her stance showed a bit of frailty and she was holding something in her hands.

"I think I found something." She walked up to him, unfolding the cream colored scarf and wrapping it around his neck. Her hands lingered on the material before slipping to her sides. She never took her eyes off it, though.

"It belonged to my mother. It was her favorite and my dad gave it to me after she had passed away. I've never worn it, though. Not much of a scarf person." She added with a weak laugh. He could see the tears begin to pool in her eyes.

Without warning, he hunched over slightly and pulled her into a tight embrace. She tensed up for a few seconds but soon wrapped her arms around his midsection, holding onto him a little tighter than she normally would have. After a while they separated and Clara wiped away a couple of tears that had finally managed to escape.

The Doctor took one final glance at the mirror and smiled once he noticed Clara's reflection standing beside his, smiling back. Without breaking the stare, he took her hand in his for the first time and squeezed it.

"Not bad, huh?"

Her smile widened, and she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Not bad at all."

**Author's Note:**** So tell me what you think. I would love to hear from you guys. I promise the adventure will start in chapter 3. I just couldn't resist writing some more fluffiness between them :D Also, sorry that Twelve's outfit isn't really creative. I don't know anything about fashion so I tried to compensate with the colors he was going to wear. I hope you guys like it.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Wrong Destinations

"So where do you want to go?"

Clara watched while he pushed buttons and pulled levers. Gone were the frantic running and spinning to be replaced with calm and commanding strides around the console. She was going to miss the clumsiness but she liked the air of authority that this new him gave out. Not that his past self couldn't master an authoritative air. But it was more evident now. He didn't even have to try. It was written all over: from the glasses perched on his nose, giving an intellectual vibe, to his erect posture, which showed strength and had the power to intimidate.

But she was also glad to see that not everything was different. He still had the same blush that she had seen when she had teased him about his glasses. He still had that tick of adjusting something on his person, only this time it was the glasses instead of the bowtie. He obviously still had the habit of pushing and pulling things on the console when it wasn't really necessary. And the way he looked at her. She could still feel the same warmth and see the same pain behind those now grey-blue eyes.

"Oswin?"

"Hmm?" Shaking her head, she stopped her wandering thoughts. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I know I'm such a dream to stare at, but, please, control yourself."

"Don't be so cocky, Doctor. You're not that impressive. And even if you were, there's no way I would make it so obvious. Wouldn't want to feed that massive ego of yours." She could tell he was trying to hide a smile. Knowing that he was failing to do so, he turned back to the console.

"My massive ego aside, have you decided where you want to go?" Walking away from the stairs, she came up beside him and pushed some buttons in thought. He quickly swatted her hands away so she walked around. After several more seconds in silence, he groaned.

"Why are you taking so long to decide? Just tell me a date!" She wasn't as happy to note that his former impatience and restlessness was still there.

"It's not easy to choose when you know little about the past and nothing about the future! If you're so eager to go somewhere then you choose."

"Alright, then. I will. Prepare to be blown away!" The Tardis shook violently as he typed in a destination. Clara held onto the railing and grinned when she saw him run around the console, flipping and pushing here and there. Maybe that little manic trait wasn't gone after all.

The Tardis finally settled down and the Doctor helped Clara up from the floor. Pulling her toward the doors, he stopped and turned to face her.

"Are you ready? Behind these doors is a whole new world. Gelactria, to be precise. A planet just born. You're about to see white mountains caped with blue snow. Velvet soft grass that reaches up to your knees and a faded yellow sky. The only big species to inhabit for now are birdlike creatures larger than this police box. Maybe we'll get to ride one." Be grabbed the door handles. "Ready?"

Clara nodded vehemently. He pulled both doors at once and they came face to face with…

"A hallway." They stepped out and looked at their surroundings. Definitely a hallway. Clara crossed her arms and put all her weight on one leg.

"Is your snog box acting up again?"

"She's not a snog box!" He called back from the console. He was looking at the monitor, glasses perched at the top of his head as he took a closer look at the readings.

"So where are we?"

"I don't know. These readings don't make any sense. Apparently we're on a cargo ship but it doesn't say what the cargo is."

"Should we just leave? A cargo ship isn't exactly filled with velvet soft grass."

"Yeah, I guess so. Close the doors will you. I'll start putting in new coordinates." But just as he said those words, the Tardis started up and began to fade around them.

"What's going on!?"

The Doctor hastily repositioned his glasses and began to frantically push buttons. But soon his hand was going right through the console. Next thing they knew they were alone in the hallway and no Tardis.

"It left us! Your snog box left us stranded here!" She punched his arm.

"Hey! Well maybe it's because you called her a snog box!"

"So now this is my fault!?"

"Yes! If you hadn't insulted her then this wouldn't have happened!"

Clara was about to retort but stopped when she heard multiple heavy footsteps. Soon they were surrounded by ten armed aliens. Guns pointed at them. Clara moved closer to the Doctor to whisper.

"Got a plan?"

"Why do I always have to come up with the plan?"

"Because you're the impressive one, remember?"

"Oh, so now I'm impressive?"

"Just think of something!"

"You can't escape even if you tried." The armed aliens in front of them stepped aside to reveal the source of the voice. The new alien walked towards them, stopping a meter or so in front of them. He was shorter than the Doctor by an inch or two but his stance held just as much confidence. His hands and facial features were human-like but he had no ears or hair. His skin was light blue and looked slimy. Cat eyes stared intently at the Doctor, who held the stare.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Oswin." Clara saw as the man's eyes flickered instantly with recognition at hearing the Doctor say who he was. But just as fast as the reaction appeared, it had disappeared. She was about to ask whether he knew the Doctor but stopped when she saw movement from the aliens surrounding them. They were putting down their weapons.

"My apologies, Doctor. One can never be too sure when it comes to people randomly showing up onboard. I'm Lieutenant Castrel Marshall, at your service." He saluted, earning a grimace from the Doctor.

"Marshall?" Clara inquired.

"My father was human." The Lieutenant explained, used to people's confusion at him having a human name. "If you'll please follow me. Colonel Astrof wants to see the intruders. Not that you're intruding, Doctor. It's truly an honor to have you onboard."

"Have we met before?" He asked, easily catching up to walk next to the Lieutenant, leaving Clara behind and struggling to keep up.

"Not personally. But I've heard many stories about you when I was training at the academy. You're legendary. Kept calling you the perfect warrior." Clara watched as the Doctor's face darkened. She had never seen that expression before, not even from his previous self. But it was the intensity of the expression that unsettled her.

"Doctor? Are y-"

"Where exactly am I?" The Doctor asked the Lieutenant, effectively cutting Clara off mid-question. "My ship told me this was a cargo ship, but what's the cargo?"

"Ah, yes. I've heard about your Tardis. A ship that looks like a wooden police box but holds infinite space. Truly remarkable."

"Yeah, yeah. Now answer my questions."

"Doctor," Clara whispered, nudging him with her elbow. "Don't be so rude to the man with the gun." She gestured slightly to the futuristic gun resting in the Lieutenant's holster.

"Don't worry, Miss…"

"Clara."

"Miss Clara, I have no intention of shooting you or the Doctor. You are on Byltro 29." The Lieutenant said, finally addressing the Doctor's question. "It's part of the Eastern fleet of the Venestrian Army. Byltro is a cargo ship and we are currently headed back to Venestra for the High Council to decide the fate of our package."

"Fate of your package? What does that mean? What are you transporting?"

"War criminals."

**Author's Note:**** Writing their banter is fun. What do you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Questionable Commands

Clara stopped abruptly.

The Doctor and the Lieutenant took a couple of strides before noticing that she wasn't following behind.

"What's the matter, Oswin?"

"We're stranded on a ship… full of war criminals?"

"That's what Marshall – can I call you Marshall?"

The Lieutenant looked taken aback. "Yes, of course, Doctor."

"That's what Marshall said. I swear, Oswin, it seems like you're the one that regenerated instead of me. Were you always this slow to catch on?" Clara gave him a look which he ignored and resumed walking.

"Besides, I wouldn't say that we're stranded. I just need to find the Tardis. And even if we are, nothing's going to happen. I'm sure Marshall here has everything under control concerning the criminals."

They came to a stop and waited while the Lieutenant entered a code that opened a door to what looked like a control center. Entering the room, the two took a moment to look at their surroundings while the aliens who had had them surrounded earlier went back to their stations.

"Are these the intruders?" A harsh voice rang.

Suddenly a woman came to stand right in front of them. She looked completely different from the Lieutenant and more like the others who had the guns pointed at them earlier. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun, allowing her pointed ears to become more obvious. She was fit and her narrow, cold eyes did much to intimidate despite her short stature. All of her attention was drawn to the Doctor. Clara could've danced around naked in front of her and she would be none the wiser.

"Doctor, Miss Clara, this is Colonel Zeena Astrof. Colonel, this is the Doctor and Miss Oswin Clara."

"That's not my name. It's just-"

"Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor." The Doctor replied, a little bored.

"And I'm just Clara Oswald. No 'Oswin' whatsoever." But again, no one paid her any heed.

"Colonel, this is _the_ Doctor." The Colonel's face changed from scrutiny to pleasure.

"Ah, so this is the famous Doctor. The legendary warrior they told us so much about back in the academy."

"Don't call me that." There was a hint of disgust and vexation in his voice. The Colonel only smirked and took a step closer.

"My, you are a feisty one, aren't you?" The Colonel's eyes roamed down and back up again to meet the Doctor's gaze. "And maybe a bit handsome." Clara's jaw almost fell to the floor at watching the Colonel flirt with Doctor. But what was really entertaining was to see the Doctor's reaction.

His eyes were wide, eyebrows high on his forehead, his mouth slightly open, and he was leaning back, trying to get more space between his body and the Colonel's without actually taking a step back. But the icing on the cake had to be the blush that was creeping across his face.

"Yes, well, Miss Oswin Clara's name isn't really 'Oswin Clara'. Right… Oswin." The Doctor turned his head to Clara for help, hoping to get the Colonel's attention away from himself. But Clara wasn't about to destroy this very interesting moment. So she stayed silent.

"Tell me, Doctor," The Colonel back away and settled herself into a grand chair at the center of the room. "To what do I owe the honor of having you onboard the Byltro?"

"It was an accident, actually." He said, having slightly recovered. Walking around, he took a look at the different controls and monitors. "I was hoping you would allow me to use some of your equipment to track down my Tardis. She kind of… disappeared." He fidgeted slightly. Clara could see it was hard for him to admit that he had lost control over his ship, especially to someone who obviously knew how to command one as complex as the one they were on.

"It would be an honor to help you, Doctor, but now is not an opportune time. We've recently had an alert. Someone who isn't supposed to be on this ship is. That's why my men and I thought you were intruders. We are working now to find the real intruders and we need all of the equipment at our disposal. I'm sure you understand."

"Yes, of course. In fact, maybe I can help. I'm sure I cou-"

"Please, don't trouble yourself, Doctor." The Colonel stated a little too quickly. "We've got everything under control. In the meantime, Lieutenant Marshall will escort you to the room where you and your daughter can stay while everything is sorted."

"I'm not his daughter!" Clara shouted indignantly, finally getting the attention of the people in the room, especially that of the Colonel, who looked displeased.

"Then you must be his wife."

"No!" They both shouted, taking a step away from each other.

"Oswin is just my friend." The Colonel's smile returned at that comment. She strode to the Doctor and smirked.

"I must admit, that information pleases me very much." The Doctor's blush returned stronger than before. He reached a hand out to Clara and hastily placed her between him and the Colonel.

"Well, we better be going. Don't want to impose too much."

"Do we have to leave so soon? I'm sure the Colonel would enjoy having you sti-" The Doctor clamped a hand over Clara's mouth and wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from escaping.

"Now, Oswin, they're very busy with their intruders." With his hold still on her, Clara enthusiastically waved goodbye while the Doctor led them toward the exit. The Lieutenant followed behind after exchanging a few silent words with the Colonel.

"You're going to pay for that." The Doctor said, having finally taken his hands away from her and moving her aside to let him walk faster.

"Oh, lighten up, will you? I was just having a bit of fun after everyone ignored me. Nothing wrong with that, right Lieutenant Marshall?"

"I gue-"

"When it's at my expense, it is. Right Marshall?"

"I suppo-"

"Well, I plan on teasing you a lot from now on, so you better get used to it. Right Lieutenant?"

The Doctor was about to retort but stopped when he noticed a door sliding open. The Lieutenant motioned for them to enter. It was a small room with plain white walls. There was nothing in the room besides a single twin sized bed. Great.

"I apologize but this is the only spare room available for you to stay. We aren't exactly equipped for guests. I hope this won't be a problem."

"No problem at all." Clara glared at the Doctor's back.

"There's a restroom in there should you need it." He pointed to a door in the room. "Would you like me to send over a meal?"

"Actually, I could go for-"

"That won't be necessary, Marshall. Thank you."

"In that case, I'll be off. I'll come back to notify you when the equipment is ready for you to use."

"Yeah, thanks." The Doctor closed the door abruptly and began to pace back and forth.

"Why did you say no? Unlike you, I'm human and need food."

"Something's very wrong here."

"I'll say," Clara looked around. "There's only one bed. I hope you're keen on sleeping on the floor because I'm sure not going to."

"Yeah, fine." He waved a hand dismissively. Clara settled herself on the bed and watched him pace around.

"Doctor, what's wrong?"

"Something strange is going on."

"Why do you say that?"

"First of all, didn't you notice what little personnel they have? The few that surrounded us were the same ones who had stations in the control room. For a ship full of war criminals they sure are pushing their luck with so little armed men."

"Maybe since those were the closest ones, she sent them."

"But that doesn't make sense. A ship as big as this should have men to spare, especially considering the fact that it's full of the enemy. She shouldn't be sending men in charge of controls unless she has no one else."

"I guess."

"And if I'm right about the amount of men, which I probably am, then why did Marshall say that there weren't any other rooms available for us to stay in? There should be rooms by the dozen."

He turned his gaze to hers and a thought struck her. "Hey, didn't you notice how your girlfriend was really eager to have you around-"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"But as soon as you offered to help, she immediately tried to get you out of the room? She got nervous. And! If there are many available rooms then why did they put us in a room so close to the control room? Are they trying to keep an eye on us, keep us close? Maybe there's something more going on here than just 'transporting cargo' that they don't want us to know about."

He smiled. "I almost forgot how good you are. What do you say to a little secret investigation?" He extended his hand and she eagerly took it. He turned to open the door but she stopped him.

"Wait, what if Lieutenant Marshall comes back and sees that we're not here?"

"We'll just have to hurry and come back before he does. I doubt he'll be back anytime soon."

Opening the door quietly, he pocked his head out before pulling them out into the hallway and closing the door behind them.

"Ok, so the control room is down the left, so let's head to the right. Keep it quiet, and try to stay away from any camera vantage points. We don't want anyone finding out what we're doing."

"Especially not your girlfriend." She whispered back.

"She's not my girlfriend!"

**Author's Note:**** I'm officially on Thanksgiving Break! FINALLY! And I'd thought I'd celebrate by posting chapter 4. Plus I'm just SUPER DUPER excited! ONLY ONE MORE DAY UNTIL THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR! AJSKHJLFNSNH! I'm actually gonna miss the simulcast since I don't have BBC America. But I am going to see it on the 25th in theaters along with my two sisters. I just have to make sure not to go on the internet until then to avoid spoilers. I plan on putting my laptop in the freezer, disconnecting the internet and chucking it out the window, and hiding under my bed. That should do it, right?**

**Anyways, I hope you guys are enjoying the story thus far. Don't hesitate to tell me your thoughts!**


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